TERENCE Clifton, the man accused of murdering Morecambe men Tony Marrocco and Paul Sandham two years ago, has refused to leave his prison cell and attend his own trial. The 26-year-old from Erith in South London was due to defend himself at the double
Morecambe 5 Clitheroe 0 MORECAMBE are back on the Wembley trail on Saturday when they take on Chorley in the FA Trophy - and they warmed up by keeping their grip firmly on the Lancashire ATS Trophy at Christie Park on Monday night. It was a night of losses
Bury 6 Mansfield O Auto Windscreens Shield Northern Section Second Round IMPERIOUS Bury strutted a step closer to Wembley but they made everyone wait before they put Mansfield out of their misery on Monday night. A tepid first half performance gave way
A NEW copper production building at Accrington chemical company William Blythe Ltd will be designed and constructed by Thomas Barnes and Sons plc from Bury. The project, valued at over £600,000, will be within the existing plant boundaries on the site
A PUB manager was plucked to safety by firemen from a first floor window as a blaze raged downstairs. Steven Powell had to break the window for air as the living room of the Pheasant Plucker public house in Atherton became smoke-logged. He said: "I could
HOWE BRIDGE! The prom and the pit baths, games of piggy and midden men, Up-Loners and Down-Loners, the mini boulders back of Bridges Street and Earl Street, the cobblestones and the rucks. And the Briarcroft! The old hall, founded by Fletcher Burrows
HAS it gone unnoticed that the history of our island can be traced on the headstones in the old churchyards across our land? From the Brontes to the sad resting places in the mill towns across Lancashire, where little children were struck down by the
A LEIGH man who died last March had been suffering from a drink and drug problem for at least eight years, a Leigh inquest heard. William Shepherd, 29, was found dead at his home in Hope Street, Leigh on March 16, 1996. Pc Stephen Gaskell said there were
EVERY bride should be beautiful on the day when she is the most important person in the world. We're all romantics at heart and that is why your very own Citizen is sponsoring the Wedding Fayre which is taking place at the Pembroke Hotel, Blackpool, on
CRIME crackers want a town centre clean-up session. And next Friday (January 24) Leigh's top lawmen and MP will try to address Leigh's problems. Police head Supt. David Edge, Greater Manchester Police Authority chairman Cllr Stephen Murphy, MP Lawrence
LECTURERS at Accrington and Rossendale College will be balloted over indefinite action in support of their sacked colleague Pat Walsh. The postal ballot, which will begin on Friday (January 17), was arranged by lecturers' union NATFHE in response to Mr
LOWTON writer Peter Hough is aiming to re-write the history books. For Peter, who lives in Lowton, has been selected as prospective parliamentary candidate for the Liberal Democrats to fight Leigh in the General Election. He has already had a tatste of
FED-UP residents on a quiet close feel they have lost their four-year fight against a neighbouring factory. Neighbours in Bentham Close, Mill Hill, Blackburn, claim lorries unloading at Perserverance Mills are a constant source of nuisance and noise.
A DEFIANT company boss has vowed to rebuild his business and retain staff after his carpet warehouse was destroyed by a huge blaze - just yards from the scene of a similar devastating fire 16 months ago. More than 70 firefighters battled through the night
A FAMILY PET nanny goat has been slaughtered in its allotment pen. And the attackers also slashed the throat of a second goat causing her to have 80 stitches. The horror of the attack at Tyldesley Allotments even shocked local police who were called to
NATURE lovers have gone ape over plans to build homes in a wildlife paradise. Manchester-based Milnes Gaskell Estates want to develop 4.15 hectares of land near Taylor's Hole, off St Helens Road, Leigh. Now Pennington people, anglers and conservationists
THE fortnight's holiday Bamber Bridge enjoyed thanks to the cold weather seems to have done them a power of good. With their previous two league matches postponed, Bridge kicked off 1997 against fellow strugglers Frickley Athletic looking confident and
HUNDREDS of vulnerable people may be struggling on in poverty because they are unaware they are eligible for benefit payments. Preston Council is so concerned about the potential plight of pensioners and families with young children in the borough who
LIKE many fellow Darweners I was shocked to read the news of artist Albert Hurst's death through your internet pages. As a Darwener living in Melbourne Australia, I would like to send condolences to Albert's family and friends. I am proud to have met
I HAVE made one determined New Year resolution ...not to make any resolutions! However, I DO plan to do more for the environment. So far though, I have been a bit half-hearted about it. In fact, you could say I belong to an organisation called Casual
POLICE are hunting a knifeman who subjected a 15-year-old schoolgirl to a terrifying hour-long ordeal. The incident happened at 6pm on Monday on Whittaker Lane, Prestwich, at the junction with Bury Old Road. The teenager was approached by a man who threatened
OH CRUMBS! Pigeon power in Blackburn town centre is to be stamped out - and folk could face fines or court action for feeding their feathered friends. Council chiefs are considering introducing new by-laws to make it illegal to feed nuisance birds after
THE hospitality of Briggers will become legendary as far field as Canada thanks to a new book by a war-time evacuee. Alan Barnard who now lives in British Columbia, was shipped out to Bamber Bridge to escape bomb-threatened Manchester in 1939. He was
PARENTS of a tiny 'hole in the heart' baby told this week how there home was robbed while they were at their sick daughters' bedside. Eight-week-old Chloe Leanne Derbyshire was born with two holes in her heart, due to a condition called Tretralogy of
PENNY conscious couples hoping to tie the knot with all the frills and very few bills have inundated a local vicar with enquiries about his unique cut-price wedding service. More than 30 couples have tried to take advantage of the £750 all-inclusive package
THERE is increasing concern about the effects of medicines, especially flu and cold preparations, on drivers. The problem, it seems, is that people are incapable of selecting a 'non-drowsy' product. Almost 500 people a year are killed due to drivers having
ENRAGED council officials have hit back after Preston was compared to 'the Outer Hebrides' in a national Sunday magazine. Food correspondent with the Mail on Sunday's You magazine Annie Bell was in Lancashire to visit Paul Heathcote's in Longridge. The
EPILEPSY sufferer Timothy Sherlock has just graduated from university - after being told that he would never succeed. Timothy (23), from Chadwick Street, Bury, has spent his life in and out of hospital, after being diagnosed with epilepsy when he was
BAMBER Bridge manager David May is confident that better times are just around the corner. Bridge's 5-0 drubbing of Frickley Athletic was just the start May wanted to his New Year crusade. And May has promised new faces at Irongate as the team attempts
ANGRY Ainsworth residents have received a boost in their campaign to stop a huge sports club being built in the village. Environmental groups as well as the Sports Council have voiced concern at plans by Bolton Road Methodist Church to offer Bolton Road
NEW Accrington professional Nathan Astle has tipped New Zealand's bowlers to slay the English middle order in the coming series which gets under way in Auckland tomorrow. The Christchurch all-rounder believes that is the main weakness of the England team
IWOULD be grateful if a kind reader would help me with a mathematical problem. I frequently take a Silverline taxi from my home in Rosewood Avenue to Blackburn railway station and return 10 minutes later on the same route in a taxi from the rank outside
SLEAZE-BUSTING judge Lord Nolan agrees there should be a full investigation into the funding of our political parties. Quite so. For anyone concerned with integrity in public life cannot be happy that the matter of who gives donations to which parties
FIFTY swimmers took part in the 11th annual Howe Bridge Marlins 1,500 Championships. The race attracted strong competitors from the North West's leading long distance clubs. And it was won by Barrow's Keith Minican ahead of Graham Padgett (Warrington)
EIGHT records were smashed as Tyldesley Swimming Club celebrated its 120th annual championships in champagne style. And one of the magnificent eight had stood for 16 years. The record romp was led by Kate Ward, 12, who took seven titles, including the
MIKE Doyle, deputy leader of St Helens Council, has been chosen as one of 60 special ambassadors to boost the image of St Helens and Merseyside. Representatives were selected by the Merseyside Partnership from both the public and private sector and have
AN 'upper crust' local bakers and confectioners have earned a genuine golden handshake... and national recognition for their efforts . For one half of our Olympic rowing champions was on hand to make a national training award to John Pimblett and Son.
A WALK in the park turned into a lifesaving mission for Debbie Lea when she made the pitiful discovery of a sack containing two tiny puppies dumped on a frozen pond. And it was only by chance that animal-lover Debbie, who works at a sheltered housing
MIDDLESBROUGH'S appeal against the deduction of three points for failing to play at Ewood last month could be doomed to failure, as startling new evidence from the Premier League emerged today. And it adds weight to Blackburn Rovers' claims that they
PERSISTENCE has finally paid off in Leigh's long chase for experienced prop Andy Pucill. Weeks of negotiation were expected to reach a conclusion on Tuesday when the ex-Swinton star was expected to agree to a move to Hilton Park. Leigh thought they had
NOW Keith Latham can't wait to get his teeth stuck into the real thing. The new Leigh coach bristled with pride as his untried and youthful squad gave expensively-assembled Swinton more than a run for their money in Sunday's full-blooded friendly at Hilton
ST HELENS Council is celebrating a double success after succeeding in its bid for £5 million of Capital Challenge money to help carry out an £8 million package of improvements to Newton and St Helens town centre. And the council has also succeeded in
MUM of two Jacqueline Spark is lucky to be alive thanks to the quick thinking actions of her student daughter, Emma. Jacqueline nearly choked to death when a small piece of chicken lodged in her throat, but fortunately, Emma, who learned first aid techniques
ST HELENS Council's Trading Standards Officers have issued an alert following a spate of complaints concerning Tea Light and Night Light candles. Ken Wardale, the council's Chief Trading Standards Officer, explained: "There has been a massive growth in
ALAN WHALLEY'S WORLD IT would appear that St Helens once floated on an ocean of chip-fat. The old town isn't particularly short-changed, as far as chippies are concerned, up to this present day. But Wally Anders can crank us back to a time when there
NOW that Princess Di has been freed from the constraints put on her by the Royal Family, it has been quite refreshing to witness her courageous protest against the widespread use of anti-personnel land mines in Angola. Hopefully, we will soon see her
A RING of steel will be thrown round a Radcliffe primary school to protect staff and pupils. Planners have agreed to Gorsefield erecting a 2m high fence round their building. The £6,000 for fencing and gates will be met from school funds and it follows
WHEN is a mouse not a mouse? When it's a rat! That's the question residents will have to ask themselves when they call out the council's Pied Pipers. Because the local authority is broke, people will now have to pay to have their house cleared of mice
WHEN is a mouse not a mouse? When it's a rat! That's the question residents will have to ask themselves when they call out the council's Pied Pipers. Because the local authority is broke, people will now have to pay to have their house cleared of mice
GARTH WADDUP is set for a giant 1997. The big guy, who stands 6ft in his stocking feet, will be touching eight foot and more come January 28. He has been cast in the mammoth role of Giant Blunderbore in the St Joseph's Players production of "Jack &
SHE was known to millions as Phyllis Pearce, the popular lady with the blue hair rinse in TV's popular soap 'Coronation Street'. But for many people in Tyldesley Jill Summers, who died last week, was a friend and neighbour. For Jill, (real name Honour
A TEENAGE table tennis star who won many honours in the St. Helens League has picked up yet another prestigious accolade on his way to the top. For 19-year-old Kevin Dolder, of Kensington Avenue, Sutton, scooped the North West Champion of Champions title
ST HELENS Town hope to get back into top gear on Saturday. For they are due to continue their North West Counites League programme with their first visit in five years to Vauxhall GM at Ellesmere Port. However, they will be without Nobby Shaw and Terry
POLICE are searching for two men who attacked a milkman in broad daylight and stole his takings. The attack happened at about 1.10pm on Tuesday, January 14 in Glover Street, St Helens when the 63-year old milkman was pushed from behind. He was unhurt
AN undercover operation by council watchdogs resulted in a haul of explicit pornographic videos being confiscated at a car boot sale. Magistrates at St Helens heard how Trading Standards Officers seized the unclassified videos, on sale at the council-run
COUNCILLORS have paved the way for more improvements to make Leigh town centre a better place to shop. Work has started on the second stage of pedestrianisation on Bradshawgate. Paving work will be extended from Albion Street as far as Back Market Street
A STUDENT is out to tackle the biggest challenge of her sporting career. Twenty-year-old Jennifer Foster has been called up into the senior England Women's Rugby Union squad. It's a tremendous honour for the former Cowley High School head girl, who is
A PENSIONER taking a short-cut on her way home from Asda supermarket fell victim to a bag-snatcher who made off with her shopping and a purse containing £10. The thief pounced as the 72-year-old woman walked through an alley way between Lyon Street and
A NEWTON teenager toyed with the opposition to scoop top award in a technology competition for schools throughout Merseyside. Pauline Yip, a pupil of Newton Community High School impressed the judges with her entry in the Expotech Schools Challenge, run
AN animal-loving receptionist from Rutland House Veterinary Hospital has organised a collection of more than 1,000 tins of petfood which will be donated to animal welfare organisations in the area. Mary Davies, from Newton-le-Willows, has run the collection
TOP darts professionals will rub shoulders with local players when Pendle hosts one of the area's biggest sporting events next month. The Great Marsden Hotel, Barkerhouse Road, Nelson, is the venue for the Lancashire Darts Open. Most of the country's
IAM a historian working on British subjects who were working in Russia in the period 1917-1919. If any of your readers feel able to help me to locate the families of Mr and Mrs J Yates, Ernest Yates, Alfred Percival Yates, Mrs Eugene Yates, William Yates
I was astonished to read the story last week about Thora Hird's remarks about Morecambe (Citizen 9/1). It's all very well being rich and being able to live where you want but some of us have no choice where we live. There are a lot of people in Morecambe
KALI the trusty husky is off on the final grand challenge of her life. The old lady retires from her life as a racing snow dog in February, and when Pendle postwoman Jyl Oldham takes to the slopes of Aviemore next weekend it will be the last time Kali
Neil Bramwell speaks out THERE is a double agent stalking the corridors of power at Turf Moor. His particular brand of espionage pales into insignificance when compared to master spy Kim Philby. But his involvement has neverthless prompted a Cold War
WATER bosses are hitting back at bogus callers preying on vulnerable elderly people in Morecambe and Lancaster. North West Water has launched a new scheme called the ExtraCare security scheme to help prevent thieves from tricking their way into pensioners
FEW pundits could have predicted that one of Burnley's toughest tests in the second half of this season would come from division-two newcomers Bury. But the Shakers have played with such consistency since winning promotion that they may reasonably be
A DERELICT warehouse along St George's Quay in Lancaster branded as an 'eyesore' is to be flattened to make way for 18 new houses. In accordance with the city's Local Plan the empty cash and carry depot next to Carlisle Bridge will be demolished to make
BUSINESS boomed in Lancaster last year and the signs are good for 1997 according to a survey carried out by industry chiefs in and around the city. A survey conducted by the Lancaster District Chamber of Commerce has shown that the district enjoyed 'steady
IT'S going to be a cracker ... but only with the help of kind-hearted Fylde folk! A top Blackpool dance school will be putting on the performance of a lifetime in a bid to raise funds for the Trinity Hospice. Langley Dance and Drama Centre will be staging
Teenager cheats death as gas canister explodes A MORECAMBE teenager narrowly cheated death after a butane gas cylinder exploded in his basement bedroom on Saturday afternoon. The explosion sent shock waves rippling through Winsley Guesthouse on Skipton
COMMUNITY hospitals across the Fylde are helping to ease the Blackpool bed crisis by taking on a record number of patients. In a bid to release the gridlock which has developed over beds at Victoria Hospital, the Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde Community Trust
NEW business opportunities will be opened up when an access road linking an industrial estate is complete. As part of the SysteM65 project by Blackburn Council to attract investors to the M65 corridor, a new entrance road is under construction and should
POP groups come and go and then come and go - for better or for worse. One local group sure to receive a warm welcome back are Revolver from St Annes. They might not have the world-wide acclaim of a super-group, but when they decided to call it a day
Boss Stan Ternent tore into his charges after their last league game, a lacklustre 1-1 draw at Rotherham, and will expect much better at Turf Moor in front of the Sky Television cameras tonight (Fri). A 6-0 midweek win over Mansfield Town helped boost
A FYLDE church has been ringing the praises of British Aerospace and it's all thanks to state-of-the-art gadgetry. The military aircraft makers have given Lytham's St Cuthbert's parish church a high-tech gift which will ensure a silent night for local
LET'S ROCK! That's the message from Blackpool's new holiday guide which describes the resort as "fun through and through". The guide is full of fabulously glossy, full-colour pictures and prospective tourists are guided around the resort by a colourful
ANOTHER year another diet ... the crash diet, the grapefruit diet and the F-PLan - all have been tried, most have failed. Well now there's a new diet aid that has been tried, tested and has a seal of approval from leading doctors and dieticians, as well
DOGGONE, would you believe it! Thanks to Citizen readers there has been a massive response to the appeal for dog food and blankets. When big-hearted Jim McLellan contacted the Citizen last week to ask us to print his special appeal for dog food, blankets
NO-LLERBLADES! That's the message from Blackpool Transport to the blades and skates brigade who use its vehicles. Bus bosses have put their foot down on an activity which has seen much of the country get its skates on. Blackpool Transport will no longer
INCONSIDERATE dog owners have let their pets turn a park into a messy minefield and a public health hazard. Anne Lightbown, of Stanley Drive, Darwen, branded fellow dog owners irresponsible for letting their pets loose in White Hall Park without cleaning
FURIOUS victims of teenage vandals want council action to stop an escalating catalogue of destruction. On Monday night (January 13) yobs went on a wrecking spree in Darwen town centre, attacking a number of parked cars in School Street and smashing shop
THE future of local charity shops is hanging in the balance due to a volunteer drought. Fund-raising secondhand stores are failing to attract unpaid shop assistants, forcing existing staff to work extra hours or the shop to close early. Bosses blamed
A DISABLED Leigh man who devoted his life to helping children with special needs has died of pneumonia after contracting the killer 'flu bug. Tony Shovelton, 40, who had been in a wheelchair since he was 13 years old and who taught computer studies at
A MASS exodus of teachers is expected from schools in the Leigh area. And it could have a devastating effect on the morale of teachers who remain, as well as on teaching standards. And according to Cllr Stuart Shaw, Chairman of Education, the immediate
Special report by Peter White THERE is simply no hiding place in this season's Premiership - just ask Tony Parkes. For the man who has helped inspire hopes of a lasting Blackburn Rovers revival believes there will be no such thing as mid-table sanctuary
TOM BOARDMAN proudly tells you he lives at the 'Briarcroft'. His roots meant so much to him that he re-named his home "as a constant reminder of the best years of our lives." The 30s teenager was born in Howe Bridge in 1918, joining the Briarcroft club
PRESTON North End football club is celebrating the double. Figures have revealed the club is attracting bigger crowds - and the Deepdale fans are behaving better! Football Trust statistics show that over three years, 1992-1995, more people attended the
GLOBETROTTER Kevin Graham has swapped the blistering heat of the bakery ... for the sweltering sun of a Malawi classroom. The 31-year-old former baker is taking up a job there as physics teacher on a project run by the international charity Voluntary
A CROSS-Atlantic connection with Bury has helped a Canadian town create its own special civic award. It is all down to ex-patriate Mr Norman Wild (64), a Freeman of his adopted hometown who is pleased he has not completely escaped his Bury roots. He emigrated
A FAST-GROWING women's football team could benefit from a £20,000 council windfall. Preston North End women's team has gone from strength to strength as part of the club's Football in the Community Scheme. Now the Deepdale club has applied to Preston
PRESTON GRASSHOPPERS failed to make up ground on their promotion rivals last Saturday - losing 10-3 at Winnington.. Although they were well on top in the first half they could not breach Winnington Park's defence and with skipper Steve Kerry off form
PRESTON artists will have the chance to make their mark on one of the town's most prestigious buildings during its £4 million refurbishment. And celebrated Oscar winner Nick Park will be honoured in artwork to be commissioned for the revamped Guild Hall
AN appeal is being made to local companies to help ensure the success of an international sports competition at Bury on February 28 to March 1. The Under-16s' Women's Four Countries International Basketball Tournament is to be staged at the Castle Leisure
A STOLEN car dumped in the River Ribble in Preston proved to be a perfect test for Lancashire fire service's new Incident Support Unit. The state-of-the-art equipment - quad bike, cutting tools and inflatable dinghy - provided a vital link for firefighters
TODD BIDNER makes his long-awaited debut this weekend with the aim of turning the Blackburn Hawks into a mean, lean fighting machine gunning for play-off glory. After weeks of contract wrangles between the giant Canadian forward and his former club Guildford
BLACKBURN'S landmark cathedral is set for an exciting £4.5 million revamp as the jewel in the crown of a major town centre redevelopment. A team of architects and cathedral staff have put forward ambitious plans for Millenium Commission money which would
A CATHOLIC students' play portraying Christ as a woman has been condemned as blasphemous by traditionalists. And religious leaders described the controversial idea by Preston's Cardinal Newman College theatre group Limelights as 'inappropriate", 'contrived
PARENTS are being urged to join a mass protest against swingeing cuts in education Thousands of primary school pupils will on Monday be given petition forms to take home to be signed by their families and neighbours. Also enclosed will be letters from
BLACKBURN Rovers chairman Robert Coar has issued a defiant 'hands off our players' warning to the former King of Ewood Park, Kenny Dalglish. Dalglish took over the reins from Kevin Keegan at Newcastle United on Tuesday (January 14) and his main aim will
MOTHER Nature needed a helping hand from the under soil heating to allow this five-goal thriller to go ahead. It's just a pity that Lady Luck didn't venture onto the pitch when North End needed her. It was end-to-end action throughout the match with both
BURY doctors have been swamped with patients as 'flu sweeps through the town. GPs say they had twice as many out-of-hours calls in December than in the previous month. Dr Nick Woodhead, secretary of Rochdale and Bury Local Medical Committee said: "There
A SURVEY has revealed residents like living in the Bank Top area of Blackburn, despite dirty streets, high levels of poverty and fears over the volume of traffic. Town hall officials interviewed 230 families, around 10 per cent of the Bank Top population
TRAGIC youngster Steven William Crawshaw will be buried in the Unsworth team football strip he loved so much. The ten year-old football mad youngster, from Lostock Walk, Whitefield, was killed as he tried to cross M66 motorway on Sunday. A pupil at Mersey
A SCHOOLBOY was hailed as a hero by his dad after he led his family to safety from their burning home. Carl Bolton, 15, discovered the blaze in the bathroom of the isolated family home in Cranberry Lane, Darwen, and managed to lead his mum, sister and
A LIFE-LONG Labour member has joined the General Election race - as the Referendum Party candidate. Whitefield solicitor Bryan Slater, who originally hails from "Red" Clydeside, wants voters to help him say "non" to Brussels bureaucrats. He has joined
A CALL went out for more Government cash for the provision of sheltered accommodation for the frail and elderly in East Lancashire. Burnley MP Peter Pike made the plea to Housing Minister George Younger in the House of Commons. However, the minister hit
ROBERT Moyle has been appointed production director of uniform makers Simon Jersey Limited. Mr Moyle has been with the company for eight years and held key management positions within the production and corporate departments. His major achievements include
IT WAS feet up for the local Unibond League sides yet again at the weekend with both Leigh RMI and Atherton LR caught by the inclement weather. For Leigh RMI marking time has gone beyond a joke - they have missed SIX straight matches. Saturday's postponement
PUTTING aside, for a moment, the politicking over the government's surprise decision to replace the royal yacht Britannia and the row over taxpayers picking up the £60million bill, a dispassionate questions needs to be asked. That is whether such a vessel
PLUCKY pensioner Doris Bradbury has clinched a major victory for patient power - just months after conquering cancer. The wheelchair-bound senior citizen was horrified when she had to be physically carried up two flights of steps by porters to get to
SLIMMING consultant Karen O'Neil is pleading for the return of an irreplaceable work file which was in her car when it was stolen last Thursday, January 10. The car, a metallic-blue Cavalier Diplomat, went missing sometime between 7.10 and 7.30pm, from
LEIGH are gearing themselves up for a mouth-watering Challenge Cup 3rd round tie against National Conference giants Wigan St Patrick's. They can expect a bumper crowd and a big occasion if St Pat's see off St Helens side Blackbrook in their delayed 2nd
IN THE end Skirlaugh wanted it that much more than Leigh Miners. And, powered by the icy blasts of the North Sea, the Humbersiders duly took the game 34-12 - blasting in for five tries in a final 30-minute flourish. Miners, at 8-8, simply froze to death
HOTSHOT Jason Caldwell crashed in four goals as Corbett Brewery ran riot in the Caldwell Cup. The Leigh & District Amateur Football League comp came to life with a thumping 6-0 victory for the Brewery at luckless Leigh Eagles B. They are joined in
ALAN WHALLEY'S WORLD MY recent Alf Ellaby piece stirred the memories of old rugby warhorse Ernie Hemmings prompting him to pick up his pen. He'd spotted my reference (December 12) to another Ernie - former St Helens Recs, Oldham, Workington and Saints
TWO talented teenagers are hoping to take their first steps to stardom - with a little help from generous local businesses. For 14-year-old Kristin McNally and her best friend Clare Bamber (13), both from Eccleston, who study their steps at the Elizabeth
CABLE firm Nynex has announced a dramatic growth in its revenue for 1996. Nynex's total operating cash flow improved by £41.1 million, leaving it just £5.6 million in the red compared to £46.7 million in 1995. And the firm's total revenue increased by
BLACKBURN Harriers' home fixture in the Mid-Lancashire Cross Country League attracted the biggest entry of the season so far in the senior men's race. More than 270 completed the seven miles course and best of the locals were once again the Clayton-le-Moors
A CRISIS meeting on the future of bowling greens throughout the borough was taking place in Radcliffe last night (Thurs). The vital get-together was in response to a Bury Council proposal for bowling greens to pay their way or call it a day. The agenda
FRIGHTENED locals are calling on the council to lock out car thieves and gangs of yobs from a peaceful park. Residents living near Pleasington playing fields have sent a petition to Blackburn Town Hall calling for action. They are claiming stolen cars
WHAT is the definition of the word 'pressure'? In days gone by it was used to describe the amount of air pumped into tyres! Now it has a much more significant and sinister meaning. It seems to be used daily when describing the job of soccer club managers
A BURGLAR who went back to the scene of his crime and apologised personally to his victim was jailed for twelve months at Bolton Crown Court on Thursday. Andrew Thomas (23), of Church Street, Walshaw, Bury, admitted carrying out the burglary of a house
COUNCIL tenants will have one of the lowest rent increases for years. But the good news may be short-lived, as the relatively small rise means there's less money for repairs. The 2.7 per cent hike for nearly 10,000 tenants is in line with inflation and
LANCASHIRE Cup holders Thatto Heath have been given a tough task in the third round of the Suilk Cut Challenge Cup. They must travel to Workington -a Super League outfit last season -on the weekend of January 25/26. And Blackbrook also have a tricky tie
HERE are strange goings on at the new B&Q warehouse, due to open soon in Bury. At 7.30am, when most of us are still tucked up in bed, the team of 180 staff are jumping up and down in time to the Birdie Song and shouting American-style chants, like
A WARTIME bomber raid photographer and Leigh Camera Club founder has been honoured. Laurence Hampson, 74, has been made an Associate of the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain in recognition of his meritorious service. Mr Hampson first picked up a
METROLINK is speeding to its fifth anniversary with the news that passenger numbers are again on the up. The light rapid transit system, which was pioneered along the Bury-Manchester line, is scheduled to celebrate its fifth anniversary in April. The
EVERY time Dennis Hall and his wife Jean receive a letter they put the clock back nearly 50 years. Fond memories of the times they danced Monday and Friday nights away at the Briarcroft come flooding back with every letter - whether bills or birthday
A SPORTING son of Haydock whose silky soccer skills earned him 'Busby Babe' rating with Manchester United in the 1950s has died suddenly at the age of 63. Cliff Birkett, who suffered from arthritis, was found dead at his home in Piele Road on Saturday
ALAN WHALLEY'S WORLD ANOTHER waft back in time to the original old Moss Bank chippy has been revived by J.R. Lally of Hillside Close, Billinge. In responding to an earlier query as to where that now-vanished shop stood, he flips back to the 1940s in recalling
Food News, with Deborah Yewdall IT'S official - we have all gone bananas. Forget traditional British apples and pears, the banana is number one in the fruit stakes. Every week in the UK we chomp our way through 105 million bananas and consumption is growing
TIMES were hard. And Kenneth Lucas remembers the best and worst of them. Like picking coal at Gadbury, like the British Restaurant at the top of Bag Lane, the Air Raid Shelter in Sumner Street, the allotments in Factory Street and "the gem that was the
FED-UP Saints have reacted angrily to media reports that skipper and Test star Bobbie Goulding is set to leave Knowsley Road. It became even more difficult to separate fact from fiction this week when Wigan - Goulding's first professional club - were
Saints 44 Wigan Warriors 12 TRAILING by 10 points after the first leg, Saints put the first silverware of 1997 on the Knowsley Road sideboard and picked up the Norweb Challenge £15,000 prize with this eight-try display in firm going at Knowsley Road.
COLLECTORS with Barrowford Recycling have voted to carry on regardless - even though the bottom has dropped out of the waste paper market. The vote came despite being told they would not get a penny for the paper they collected in December. Volunteers
THE people of Scotland and Wales, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland and Durham had better brace themselves for the development of a new generation of mega windpower stations, over whose construction they have no say - even if the site is
AID workers off to Romania are appealing to shoppers for food from their shopping trolleys. Sue and Ian Paxton's work began four years ago when they learned about the plight of families in Romania through a Challenge Anneka programme on television. Since
PRINCESS Anne is coming to Burnley in April to visit Grenfell, the company which supplies coats to the Royal Family. It will be the first time she has been to the town. She is expected to spend an hour at the Rylands Street factory, which employs 68 people
BURNLEY'S housing chairman slammed the government after a 23 per cent cut in spending on homes for rent. Councillor Rafique Malik said the 1997-8 grant of £1 million to local housing associations was not enough to pay for one single new home to be built
HAS any other Citizen had the same problem as me? I have been trying to get someone in authority to explain and apologise for the condition of the taxi which came for my husband and I with a collapsed suspension - admitted by the driver. I have rung numerous
Birmingham City Reserves 2 Blackburn Rovers Reserves 1 TWO goals from giant striker Kevin Francis sent Blackburn Rovers to a rare Pontin's League defeat at Hednesford last night. But, on chances created, they should have won comfortably. Francis headed
A GAME great grandma who loved to make people smile has died aged 85. Janie Whittaker, a well-known character in Oswaldtwistle, lived a fun-packed life to the full. In her 60s she dressed as batman and paraded through the streets collecting cash for a
COUPLES in Burnley and Pendle celebrating their golden weddings this year could spend a memorable day with the Queen A special Royal Golden Wedding garden party is being held on Tuesday, July 15 at Buckingham Palace - but couples who would like to go
WITH regards to your front page article about Dame Thora Hird's remark on This Is Your Life over Christmas about Morecambe being half-dead (Citizen 9/1), I was under the impression that Morecambe was dead. I, like Thora Hird, am a Morecambrian and I too
PENDLE MP Gordon Prentice says he is determined to have his say about the plight of MS sufferers after his debate in the House of Commons was axed. Mr Prentice says he was sabotaged by dirty tricks when Parliamentary business finished early, but his election
HARTLEY Hospital in Colne could be converted into a retirement village if plans for its future go ahead The owners of the hospital, Ribble Estates, have been given until the summer to find a suitable use for the old building, which has now been empty
"ANYONE who cares for the city of Lancaster will want to say no. It is vital that whatever our views about anything else, we all come together in a massive campaign of united opposition." Those are the rallying words of Cllr Hilton Dawson as a growing
CAT lovers in the Fylde are being called on to bring the purrfect happy ending to a sad tale. A friendly French feline which was smuggled into England and left by her family needs a new home once she is released from quarantine next month. Euro-cat Kes
